A User Interface (UI) for a real-time panoramic image correction system and method that simplifies the use of the system for the user. The UI includes a control panel that allows a user to enter meeting table size and shape, camera position and orientation, and the amount of normalization desired (e.g. 0 to 100%). A window can also be implemented on a display that displays the corrected panoramic image. In this window, the head (either normalized or non-normalized) of a meeting participant, preferably one that is speaking, is extracted and displayed in a separate window. Additionally, the corrected panoramic image, whose size will vary in conjunction with the amount of warping applied, can be displayed and transmitted with extra pixels around its perimeter in order to allow the corrected or normalized panoramic image to adapt to any of the standard display size and resolutions and to simplify network transmission. The corrected image can also be transmitted with standard resolutions using non-unity pixel aspect ratios to simply network transmission.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. In a computer system comprising a display, user interface selection device and user interface data entry device, a process for normalizing portions of a 360 degree panoramic image, comprising: displaying on the display a control panel for entering parameters required to normalize portions of a 360 degree panoramic image; and entering the parameters required to normalize portions of the 360 degree panoramic image via said displayed control panel.
2. The process of claim 1 wherein the parameters required to normalize the 360 degree panoramic image comprise camera position, camera orientation, horizontal feature geometry and percentage of normalization desired.
3. The process of claim 2 wherein the horizontal feature geometry comprises at least one of: meeting table geometry on which a camera corresponding to the camera position and orientation is set; and geometry of a plane corresponding to the top of people's heads sitting around the meeting table.
4. The process of claim 2 wherein the meeting table geometry comprises the size and shape of the meeting table and wherein the camera orientation is specified relative to the meeting table geometry.
5. The process of claim 1 wherein the control panel is a displayed on a Liquid Crystal Display.
6. The process of claim 1 wherein the control panel is accessible via a network user interface.
7. The process of claim 2 wherein the percentage of normalization desired varies between 0% and 100%.
8. The process of claim 1 wherein the portions of the panoramic image normalized relate to head size of persons sitting around a table and captured by the camera.
9. The process of claim 3 wherein the camera position and orientation is relative to the geometry of the table.
10. The process of claim 1 wherein the computer system is embedded in a camera.
11. A graphical user interface for displaying portions of a panoramic image comprising: a display pane for displaying an extracted portion of an approximately 360 degree panoramic image, wherein the extracted portion of the panoramic image is a normalized head of a person depicted in the panoramic image and wherein the person is speaking.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
April 14, 2005
December 12, 2006
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